


| in time | kaneki

by gravitate



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Other, Reader-Insert, tokyo ghoul - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-24
Updated: 2017-02-24
Packaged: 2018-09-26 17:33:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9913514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gravitate/pseuds/gravitate
Summary: aw kaneki to the rescue (?)





	

  _i want my hands black with the ash of missed memories_

_ as i burn them down around me _

* * *

 

Soot and ash rained down around him, staining his pale skin and even paler hair as he sat paralyzed and breathless.  Eyes straining to keep open against extreme heat waves fanning over his entire body as flames rose up high above, reaching into the sky.  Beams and walls collapsed minutes later, crashing onto the foundation of the building along with the rest of the structure with a gut-wrenching sound resembling that of an explosion.

 

Images and visions passed in front of his eyes like a movie screen.

 

_ Always there. _

_ You were always there. _

_ With him.  For Him. _

_ He could remember so clearly the feeling of your small palm landing gently on the crown of his dark hair, nudging comfortingly, despite the small stretch required for you to do so._ _ Still, you always gave him- only him- this small display of affection and consolation; and it was as if you had him in a trance, a sense of calm flooding over him, filling his mind with peace the moment your eyes met. _

_ And neither of you would ever say a word- it wasn’t needed.  A short few seconds would pass between you, and then, with a small tilt of your head, you would give him a reassuring hair-ruffle and crinkle your nose in this way that made his stomach tingle with excited laughter at how just a small gesture can radiate such pure joy. _

 

Now, he held his palm against your head, as your back leaned heavily into his chest as he slumped against the tree trunk.  Your face was smudged with black and strands of your hair singed and the light of the fire danced in circles across your relaxed features.

 

And he felt anything but calm in your presence for the first time.

 

* * *

_ i want the smell of fire _

_ to permanently stain my hair. _

* * *

 

Smoke and embers and the smell of burning wood filled the air, choking him and overwhelming his senses.  It settled and clung onto his hair like he clung onto you.   He paid no mind, though; too distraught, and too busy trying to keep it _the hell together._

  
Everything seemed so bleak.  The scene of the burning building seemed to give off a feel of nothing- empitness. The flames slowly but surely began to lose their vibrancy, and in an instant, it was as if everything might as well have vanished in that moment as he closed his eyes tightly for the first time in minutes, bowing his forehead against his hand.

 

 _ Your scent always reminded him of the summer time.  _ _ It always sent him back to childhood and deep into the grasps of nostalgia.   _ _ When the trees were filled with vibrant greens of the leaves and soft whites of the flowers sprinkled throughout, and how they somehow always smelled sweeter than any kind of candy you could buy. _

_ He could remember all the nights he laid down with you, listening to your gentle breathing as it evened out hours before his eyes could even shut.  How his arm curved with your waist as he held you closely, inhaling your aroma as if you were his only oxygen supply.  His nose would skim along your jawline, your soft skin against his own giving him a contentment to which nothing of this world could ever compare. _

He nuzzled his nose into the crook of your neck now, desperately searching for the smell of summer once more; reaching out for the joy your spirit emanated. Now all he could find was the shudder-inducing smell of smog.

 

* * *

_ we stood alone in the snowfall _

_ and not even the wind made a sound. _

* * *

 

He called your name out once, twice, how many more times against the silence until his voice was hoarse and his throat was raw, shaking you relentlessly in one arm, and reaching around you to grasp your chin in the other hand.  He frantically searched for that spark of life anywhere in you, while a storm brewed inside his head, his mind spiraling downwards into its darkest corners.

  
_"Please_ don't leave me alone."

Nothing dared make a whisper; not even the wind as the popping and crackling of flames filled the suffocating air, overbearing and drowning any other noise within the vicinity.  There was a tension that demanded silence, as if any noise would shatter any remaining semblances of serenity.

 

_ He could remember how silences between you two spoke volumes. _

_ How you would lie on the floor, the lawn, or even the roof during especially restless times.  With hands and fingers intertwined and hearts beating in time, you would stay there for hours with no words. _

_ And there would come moments of sudden eye-contact and a quiet laughter at the shared thoughts running through your minds.  Moments where your lips pressed together, and fingers would delicately trace the contours of the other’s being, mapping out and measuring every ounce of life that shined through their skin and their movements. _

 

His thumbs brushed over the apples of your cheeks, brushing away stray tears that passed through your closed eyes.   His breaths were short, and harsh, and uneven, as he tried to contain it while only succeeding in choking himself up even more.

 

Now you were still, limbs weighed down heavily by the force of gravity and defeat.  But he refused to believe he was too late- because he knew he wasn’t. Because just like the promise of calm and serenity you held for him, he held you the promise of safety and security against the true evils of the world around them.

 

_ On a night filled with rain and thunder and the aftermath of a passion shared between two lovers, he’d made his declaration. _

_ “No matter what,” he’d whispered to you,”I will always get to you in time.” _

_ He rubbed soothing circles into your soft skin as they laid wrapped within the sheets and each other.  And you fell back into a world all to yourselves once more. _

 

Now he began those ministrations once more as he sat there in the snow, holding onto you as he whispered your name again, desperately repeating it.

 

Abrupt coughing and spluttering ripped him from his reverie in an instant, though, senses on high alert as he felt you jolt in his grasp, choking and fighting to breathe again. He jumped back into action, gripping your face with more determination than ever, as he leaned further back to assist you.

 

“That’s right, just keep breathing,” he mumbled soothingly, smoothing down your hair comfortingly as you continued in your struggle for air, ”It’ll come back to you, just please keep trying."

 

He watched your eyes peel open once again, the sight taking the breath straight from his own deprived lungs.  
  
  
"Ken?" You wheezed in a tearful thanks.  
  
  
And it was just like that.  That world of joy and serenity came flooding back to him as he left kisses along your hairline and the side of your face and anywhere else he could reach.  He had his world back; he had his peace back.  He couldn’t stop the few warm droplets that spilled from his own orbs at the realization of your survival.

  
“I promised you, didn’t I?” he sobbed quietly into your ear, clinging onto you for dear life, minding your fragile state.

  
_"No matter what."_ he recited, _"I will always get to you in time."_

 


End file.
